AS a journalist for a well known London Turkish weekly newspaper years ago, one of the most important things I learned, apart from the realisation of when to stop tweaking your story and accept it was done, was that going out on a story usually meant you came back with at least two others.
In these days of COVID-19, it’s hard to remember that mingling with people and the community at large was a positive thing and that information gathering was far better in person than by press release, online or by phone.
The same is true of being a local councillor. As a Town Councillor, you may very well be on the bottom rung of the political ladder but the need to connect with people and find solutions for issues they may face is vital. And while I enjoy using social media and the roller coaster of opinions and views this may bring, you simply can’t beat meeting your constituents face to face (or facemask to facemask these days)
As a District Councillor, our meetings have now gone onto Zoom but meeting in the virtual world is not the same. We have had to adjust to the four pillars of communication; written, verbal, non-verbal and visual, and try to make sense of our discussions without the nuances of reading body language, trying to focus on the discussion instead of the speaker’s background and retaining focus on what can be lengthy meetings staring at a screen.
Which makes one of my initial campaign promises made before last year’s elections difficult because it was about keep people informed.
I believe some of the reason why people have switched off from politics (apart from issues with trust and assuming that all politicians are the same – they actually are not) is because people are less interested in the complexities of an issue and want solutions. Politicians may very well know the issues but singularly fail to articulate what the facts are, to a lay audience.
This is not about ‘dumbing down’ but it is striking that three word slogans have become so prominent (Get Brexit Done, Control the Virus, Protect the NHS etc. My favourite doesn’t feature by the way, I guess Cummings Must Go is not catchy enough)
I am also concerned that in general, people are unaware of the responsibilities of our three-tiered local government in Norfolk. County, District and Town/Parish councils all have different obligations but it is often unclear who is responsible for what.
So when residents are unhappy about a particular issue and blame ‘the Council’, I like to know which they are referring to. And we need to make that distinction, to get to the heart of the matter, communicate and find solutions.
And there it is. That pesky work communicate.
Without it, nothing happens. Without knowing about a problem, how is it fixed? Without engaging with people, how do we even know it’s a problem. Without offering to demystify local government how do people feel their interests are being served?
I’ll conclude with another memory. When I was about 12, my form teacher wrote on my report for maths ‘If she doesn’t understand something, she’ll just keep asking until she understands it’. I was quite proud of that though my Mum did give me a sideways glance when she read that (because the teacher was ALWAYS right according to Mum).
So if there is something you don’t understand/want to know more about, get in touch. By asking questions, you the people flag up what we politicians need to find out more about.
Communication is said to be a two way street. Just make sure traffic is not just going one way.
Hello this is Wymondham calling 